In groups of four or
five:Analyze each of the situations
below and attempt to determine:

A.
What specific motivation problem (e.g. overuse of reinforcement, low
arousal, lack of relevance, etc.) the teacher is facing? Use your handout,
“Motivation: The Four Factors,” to find this information.

B.
Into what category (reward/avoidance, intrinsic, task, or teacher) the
problem fits?

C.
What can be done to improve student motivation in each situation?

1.
For the 4th consecutive day, Ms. B.O. Ring is lecturing to her U.S. History
class about the depression and F.D.R.’s “New Deal.” The 60-minute period is
nearly over. As she finally looks up from her notes and pauses to catch her
breath, she notices that two students are sleeping, one is passing a note,
and several appear “spaced out.”

2.
Mr. R.E. Ward is convinced that immediate reinforcement is the key to
motivating his 4th-graders. Therefore, he tries to give some form of
reinforcement every time he sees a positive behavior. However, as the school
year has progressed, he finds student motivation becoming more of a problem,
particularly on independent work.

3. Ms. A.S. Sume is scoring her 2nd-graders’
first reading unit test. She notices that Marianna scored very poorly and is
considering moving her from the middle to the lowest reading group. Ms. Sume
is not surprised at Marrianna’s low score because the girl’s mother is a
single parent and high school dropout, and in spite of the 1st-grade
teacher’s recommendation, Ms. Sume knew all along that Marianna should have
been in the low group.

4.
Mr. E.X. Turnell is meeting with Kendrick, a student in his 9th-grade math
class, about the boy’s consistently poor performance. Kendrick tells Mr.
Turnell that his tests are unfair and that he “has it in” for him, just like
all the other math teachers Kendrick has had. Mr. Turnell responds
defensively, and the situation goes from bad to worse as Kendrick becomes
angry and leaves the office.

5. Mr. R.L. Vance has just finished giving his 6th-graders an
overview of the life-cycle of African Dung Beetles. His announcement that
the students will now see a film strip on the life-cycle of Asian Silk Worms
is met with a chorus of groans. Willie says aloud, “Who cares about Asian
Silk Worms.”

6. Believing that her inner-city 3rd-graders
come from homes lacking structure and discipline, Ms. K. Olds has concluded
that she needs to be tough with them. This morning Jeremy is wriggling in
his seat, and Ms. Olds sternly tells him to sit still, or she’ll write his
name on the board. Maria and Sasha are whispering, and Ms. Olds scolds them
and then makes them sit in the front of the room. This afternoon she is
teaching a geography lesson and asks if anyone can name a country that
borders the United States. Terell raises his hand and tentatively says,
“Alaska?” Ms. Olds frowns and stares at the boy for what seems like an
eternity to the third-graders. She then sternly replies, “Alaska is a state.
Don’t you remember anything from our unit on the 50 states? Who knows the
name of a country?” She looks around the room, but no one volunteers an
answer.